It's typical to play as the hero in video games. People should all strive to stay on the right side of morality, but that can be tiring. Sometimes, players just want to cut loose in an escapist power fantasy where they can be as naughty as they please.
This is why some titles throw in levels from the villain's perspective. They often do so for story purposes--perhaps for a chilling what-if scenario. Fans then get to revel in destructive carnage, doing everything they couldn't as the hero. It's just fun to see how the other half lives.
6 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
To demonstrate the darker tone and earthshaking power on display, The Force Unleashed opens with Darth Vader attacking the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk. The iconic Star Wars baddie slowly plows through any poor soul in his way, reducing the furry fighters and their forest homes to splinters with a simple button press. This culminates in a duel with a fugitive Jedi, whom the Sith Lord thoroughly trounces before taking his son as a secret apprentice.
This apprentice becomes the main protagonist. Players control him for the remainder of the game, accumulating more destructive Force powers and eventually rebelling against his asthmatic master. That said, fans never forget the first impression that Vader makes.
5 The Batman: Arkham Series
The seminal Batman titles have a penchant for this, letting players control the Joker several times over multiple entries. The first comes in Arkham Asylum. After a third dose of Scarecrow's fear toxin, the Dark Knight experiences the game's opening again. This, time, though, he's the psycho, and the Joker is the one who returns him to the hospital. Sadly, all he does is walk forward, so the sequence is somewhat disappointed.
Arkham Origins makes up for that with a similar hallucinogenic vision. Cryptically recounting his mental journey, fans play as the demented comedian as he thrashes hecklers and eventually falls into a vat of chemicals. The trippy scene is easily the most striking in the game.
Arkham Knight takes that to the extreme. During the climax, Batman finally succumbs to the deadly mix of fear toxin and Joker blood poisoning. This leads to an apocalyptic scenario where the Clown Prince of Crime has taken over the Caped Crusader's body. Using his newfound strength and resources, the Joker slaughters the other villains and burns Gotham to the ground. Arguably more horrific is when Batman takes back the wheel, unveiling a claustrophobic crypt where he haunts players as an army of statues. As scary as they get, these segments beautifully represent the disturbed psychology of those involved.
4 The Crash Bandicoot Series
Though usually hiding behind his evil experiments, sinister scientist Neo Cortex has teamed up with his marsupial nemesis on occasion. Their first alliance comes in Crash Twinsanity, where his brain is stolen by alien twins. Though they're supposedly partners, Crash mostly tosses Cortex around like a tool or uses him as a sled. On the upside, the villain sometimes uses his laser in third-person shooter segments.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time modifies this mechanic to fit the mainline gameplay. Here, Cortex's gun can warp matter, creating various types of platforms. He uses this gadget to aid the heroes after his temporal allies betray him. His new allegiance doesn't last long, though, as he soon reverts to his twisted ways to rewrite history. At least the truce is nice while it lasts.
3 The Mario Series
Longtime Mario fans can control the maniacal Bowser in a plethora of party games and sports spin-offs, but certain mainline entries also place players in the spiky baddie's shell. Paper Mario, for instance, has a few sections where Bowser navigates classic 2D platforming levels. Needless to say, these are much easier due to his immense toughness and fiery breath. That godlike catharsis is probably why the series later attempts a similar gimmick on a grander scale.
Super Mario Odyssey sees the eponymous plumber place his hat on his monstrous nemesis, possessing Bowser's body for a short time. Players use fire and melee attacks to traverse both 2D and 3D environments, and these moves demolish any obstacle in the way. Such raw power makes one wonder how he ever lost to the clownish Mario.
2 Assassin's Creed 3
The third mainline Assassin's Creed adventure switches up the formula by opening with Haytham Kenway. Fans control this charismatic figure for the first few hours as he travels to colonial America and establishes a Templar presence. His relationship with a Native American woman leads to the birth of the real protagonist: Connor.
This headstrong hunter trains under the Assassin Brotherhood (or what's left of it) in retribution for his mother's death. Players then spend the remainder of Assassin's Creed 3 hunting the very Templars they recruited in the beginning. This inevitably leads to a showdown with Daddy. Considering Haytham is more interesting, however, fans may wish to step back into his shoes. Luckily, they always have Assassin's Creed: Rogue, an entry devoting most of its time to him and the Templars.
1 Shadow Of The Colossus
Wander--the hero of Shadow of the Colossus--is desperate to resurrect his lost love. An omnipotent being named Dormin offers to help; Wander must simply slay sixteen colossi scattered across the land. These monsters aren't what they seem, however.
Killing these creatures releases Dormin from his temple prison, allowing him to wreak havoc on the world. Taking the form of a shadowy giant, he obliterates the holy warriors sent to stop him. Since he accomplishes this using Wander's body, players are in control the whole time. This sequence is all too brief, though, as the warriors' leader quickly seals Dormin away again. Still, after toppling titans for the whole game, it's refreshing to adopt their point of view and look down on the puny humans.